World Calendars
Byzantine date today
The calendar of the Byzantine Empire counted years from the creation of the world, which it placed in 5509 BC, and began each year on 1 September. Russia used it until 1700.
29 October 7535
Years counted from the creation of the world, set at 5509 BC
- In the Gregorian calendar
- Wednesday 11 November 2026
- This day began
- At midnight, as Wednesday 11 November 2026 begins
- This day ends
- At midnight, as Thursday 12 November 2026 begins
- Year 7535 began
- Monday 14 September 2026
- Next new year
- Tuesday 14 September 2027 (in 307 days)
- This year has
- 365 days in 12 months
- Year 1 began
- 19 July 5509 BC (Gregorian calendar counted backwards)
- Used
- Officially in the Byzantine Empire from 988 to 1453, and in Russia until 1700
- Years count from
- 5509 BC, the date it gave for the creation of the world
- New year
- 1 September, which is now 14 September in the modern calendar
- How it works
- The same months and leap years as the Julian calendar
Next holidays in this calendar
307 days
Byzantine New Year 1 September 7536
14 September 2027 · Byzantine
How the Byzantine calendar works
Year 1 of the Creation Era, Anno Mundi in Latin and Étos Kósmou (ε.Κ.) in Greek, ran from 1 September 5509 BC to 31 August 5508 BC. To convert, add 5509 to the year from September to December and 5508 from January to August. AD 2026 is year 7534 until 1 September and 7535 after it.
The months and their lengths are those of the Julian calendar, with the month names transcribed from Latin into Greek. Days were numbered from the start of the month, without the Roman Kalends, Nones and Ides. The leap day was made by doubling 24 February, as in the original Julian calendar.
| No. | Month | Days |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | September | 30 |
| 2 | October | 31 |
| 3 | November | 30 |
| 4 | December | 31 |
| 5 | January | 31 |
| 6 | February | 28 (29 in leap years) |
| 7 | March | 31 |
| 8 | April | 30 |
| 9 | May | 31 |
| 10 | June | 30 |
| 11 | July | 31 |
| 12 | August | 31 |
Years were also counted by their place in the indiction, a 15-year cycle that began as a tax reassessment and that Constantine introduced as a dating system in 312. Documents often give both, for example "in the year 6508 [1000], in the thirteenth indiction".
Variants and the method used here
This page takes the Julian calendar date and adds 5509 or 5508 years. Because the date is Julian, the new year on 1 September falls on 14 September in the Gregorian calendar this century. Month names are shown in English, and in leap years the extra day appears as 29 February, where Byzantine documents doubled 24 February. The indiction is not shown.
The era was fixed by the mid-7th century, and dates before that are proleptic, as are dates before 45 BC, when the Julian calendar began. The Alexandrian era, used by the chronicler George Synkellos, put creation in 5493 BC, so its years differ by 16; this page does not show it.
A short history
Precursors of the era go back to about AD 412. A monk and priest named Georgios used the term in 638-639, and the Creation Era appears in the Acts of the Quinisext Council in 691. Justinian ruled in 537 that every date must include the indiction, and the Byzantine indiction year had moved its start from 23 September to 1 September around 462.
The calendar was official in the Byzantine Empire from 988 to 1453. Russia used it from about 988 until 1700, when Peter the Great switched to Julian years counted Anno Domini. In Serbia it appears in old legal texts such as Dušan's Code. In church use the Christian era was adopted gradually and formally established in 1728. The ecclesiastical new year is still kept on 1 September, or 14 September Gregorian in churches that follow the Julian calendar.
Sources
How this site calculates the date: Julian months with years Anno Mundi from 5509 BC; the year begins on 1 September (Julian).